Thermostat with display screen and control dial having vertical and horizontal mounting configurations

ABSTRACT

A temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at least one temperature-modifying device includes a housing, a rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing, a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being rotatable with respect to the housing, and a controller configured to control operation of the at least one temperature modifying device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, and present a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a plurality of orientations of the display with respect to the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention relates generally to a temperature control device, and more particularly, to a temperature control device having a display screen and control dial mountable in multiple orientations, all of which provide the same user experience.

Digital programmable thermostats are common devices used to control the operation of heating and/or air conditioning systems in home or office buildings and other spaces requiring the regulation of air temperature. Often, such thermostats include an electronic display for providing the user with information related to operation. However, such thermostats are typically only mountable in one orientation (e.g., horizontal), which can cause problems when the mounting location, by way of shape, obstacles, wiring, or the like, makes the single orientation mounting difficult to achieve.

The thermostat described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,306 was an attempt to provide a device that could be mounted in multiple orientations in order to alleviate such issues caused by the mounting location. In the described embodiment, jumpers could be used to rotate the display ninety degrees to a vertical orientation, so that the thermostat could be mounted vertically as well as horizontally.

However, the embodiment shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,306 included a number of buttons for controlling the thermostat, the orientations of which change as the thermostat rotates from a horizontal configuration to a vertical configuration. For example, the “up” arrow button in the horizontal configuration became a “right” arrow when the thermostat was mounted vertically. As a result, the user does not have the same experience using the thermostat in the horizontal configuration as in the vertical configuration. A repositioning of the controls for the thermostat is not always intuitive, and the user may be disoriented by the change.

It is therefore desirable to provide a thermostat that is reconfigurable into multiple mounting orientations, but also provides the user with a virtually identical experience in each orientation, allowing for intuitive control of elements where direction/orientation are important (e.g., increasing or decreasing a value), regardless of how the user elects to mount the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, an embodiment of the present invention comprises a temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at least one temperature-modifying device. The apparatus includes a housing, a rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing, a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being rotatable with respect to the housing, and a controller configured to control operation of the at least one temperature modifying device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, and present a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a plurality of orientations of the display with respect to the housing.

In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at least one temperature-modifying device. The apparatus includes a housing selectively orientable on a support surface in a horizontal configuration or a vertical configuration, a rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing, and a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being rotatable with respect to the housing. A center of the rotary dial and a center of the display are vertically aligned when the housing is in the vertical configuration and are horizontally aligned when the housing is in the horizontal configuration. A controller is configured to control operation of the at least one temperature modifying device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, and present a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a horizontal orientation or a vertical orientation of the display with respect to the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustration, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is front side elevational view of a temperature control apparatus oriented horizontally in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front side elevational view of the temperature control apparatus of FIG. 1 oriented vertically;

FIG. 3 is a rear side elevational view of the temperature control apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the temperature control apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a tree of menu items available for selection on the temperature control apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a menu for selecting an orientation of the display of the temperature control apparatus of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “right”, “left”, “lower”, and “upper” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the device and designated parts thereof The terminology includes the above-listed words, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import. Additionally, the words “a” and “an”, as used in the claims and in the corresponding portions of the specification, mean “at least one.”

Referring to the drawings in detail there is shown in FIG. 1 a first embodiment of a temperature control apparatus 10, preferably a thermostat, for controlling operation of at least one temperature-modifying device (not shown), such as an air conditioning unit, a heating unit, or the like. The temperature control apparatus 10 includes a housing 12 that is preferably formed by a front portion 12 a and a rear portion 12 b. The front and rear portions 12 a, 12 b of the housing 12 are preferably coupled to one another via snap-fit or a like coupling so as to be separable to allow access to internal components described hereinafter. The housing 12 may also include other external or internal portions (not shown) that may be integrally formed with or fixedly or removably attached to at least one of the front or rear portions 12 a, 12 b. The front and rear portions 12 a, 12 b of the housing 12 are preferably made from a plastic material, although other types of materials may be used, as is generally known.

The housing 12 is preferably mountable to a support surface (not shown), such as a wall or the like. For example, the housing 12 may include, as part of the rear portion 12 b, at least one, and preferably two mounting slots 14 for coupling the housing 12 to the support surface. In one embodiment, a screw or a like fastener (not shown) can be inserted through each mounting slot 14 and into the support surface to secure the rear portion 12 b of the housing 12 to the support surface. The front portion 12 a may then be re-connected to the rear portion 12 b to complete the mounting. Of course, other methods for mounting the housing 12 to the support surface can be utilized as well without departing from the spirit of the invention.

During mounting, the housing 12 is selectively orientable in one of a plurality of configurations. That is, rather than being required to mount the housing 12 in a particular orientation on the support surface, the user may select one of a plurality of configurations. In a preferred embodiment, the housing 12 can be mounted in a horizontal configuration (as shown in FIG. 1) or a vertical configuration (as shown in FIG. 2).

The temperature control apparatus 10 also includes a display 16 that is disposed within or on the housing 12. The display 16 is preferably a liquid crystal display, although other types of electronic displays may be viable, and is used to provide information to the user, such as current temperature, time, date, operational status of the temperature-modifying device, and the like, and also provides operational menus as described further below for controlling operation of the temperature control apparatus 10. The display 16 is preferably in the shape of a square so as to provide the same user experience regardless of whether the housing 12 is mounted in the horizontal or vertical configuration. However, the display 16 may take any desired rotationally symmetrical shape, particularly when necessary to provide the user with the same experience regardless of the selected configuration.

The temperature control apparatus 10 further includes a rotary dial 18 that is disposed on or at least partially within the housing 12 and is rotatable with respect to the housing 12. The rotary dial 18 can be used to navigate menus on the display 16 or undertake other functions for controlling operation of the temperature control apparatus 10. The rotary dial 18 is most preferably used for functions where relative location or direction have meaning such as selecting setpoint temperatures or the like. In this manner, regardless of whether the temperature control apparatus 10 is in a horizontal or vertical configuration, the user will always rotate the rotary dial 18 in a clockwise direction to increase settings, such as temperature setpoint, date, time, a duration of time, or the like, and counter-clockwise for decreasing the same. In other words, there is no change for the user with respect to such direction or orientation-dependent functions when moving from one configuration to another. In addition, since the rotary dial maintains the same logical functionality in either orientation of the temperature control apparatus 10, there is no need for any additional software that would otherwise be required for reconfiguring the control functions in response to a change in orientation.

The rotary dial 18 also may include at least one portion which is axially movable with respect to the housing 12. For example, in one embodiment, the rotary dial 18 includes two depressible switch portions 18 a, 18 b that can be actuated by the user to make selections in the menus on the display 16 or perform other functions. In other embodiments, the rotary dial 18 may include fewer or more depressible portions. In still further embodiments, the rotary dial 18 is not movable axially and additional push buttons or switches (not shown) may be provided for certain operations. Preferably such push buttons or switches are provided only for functions that are not dependent on orientation, such as making a selection or cancelling a selection.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the housing 12 includes a button label 20 a, 20 b proximate each of the depressible switch portions 18 a, 18 b as a visual indicator to the user of the functionality of each depressible switch portion 18 a, 18 b. However, other indicators in other locations may be used as well.

In a preferred embodiment, a center of the rotary dial 18 is horizontally aligned with a center of the display 16 when the housing 12 is in the horizontal configuration (FIG. 1), and similarly, the center of the rotary dial 18 is vertically aligned with the center of the display 16 when the housing 12 is in the vertical configuration (FIG. 2). In this way, the user experience in the two configurations can be kept as similar as possible. However, the centers of the rotary dial 18 and the display 16 can be offset in one or more configurations.

Referring to FIG. 4, the temperature control apparatus 10 also includes a controller U1 contained within the housing 12 and that is operatively connected to the display 16, the rotary dial 18, and any additional inputs or interfaces provided on or in the housing 12. The controller U1 can be a microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a logic circuit, combinations thereof, or the like. The controller U1 may be powered by conventional methods, such as household wiring (not shown), batteries (not shown), or the like, or combinations thereof The controller U1 is also connected to the temperature modifying device(s) for controlling operation thereof. The connection may be made directly or indirectly using wires (not shown), for which an opening 22 is provided in the rear portion 12 b of the housing 12 (FIG. 3). The wiring for such devices is conventionally known. The temperature control apparatus 10 may also include a wireless communication module 24, which may operate using Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, ZIGBEE, Z-WAVE, 3G or 4G cellular or other like types of wireless protocols for communicating with the temperature modifying device(s) or other devices.

The controller U1 further includes or is connected to a memory U2, such as RAM, SRAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, or the like for storing programming functions, user selections and settings, and other data.

The temperature control apparatus 10 preferably also includes one or more temperature sensors 26, in communication with the controller U1, for detecting an ambient temperature of the medium to be controlled. It is preferred that the temperature sensor 26 is disposed within the housing 12, as shown in FIG. 4, although the temperature control apparatus 10 can be utilized with temperature sensors 26 located exterior of the housing 12 as well. Thus, the medium in which the temperature is to be measured can be air, water, or other liquids/gasses. The temperature sensor 26 may include, for example, a thermistor, thermocouple, memory metal (e.g., a nickel-titanium alloy), a bimetallic metal strip, or other type of temperature transducer.

As is conventional, the controller U1 receives from the temperature sensor 26 the measured ambient temperature, which the controller U1 then compares to a setpoint temperature, which is preferably user-selected. In response to the comparison, the controller U1 controls operation of the appropriate temperature modifying device. For example, depending on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and a first setpoint temperature, the controller U1 may determine to turn a heater on or off. Similarly, depending on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and a second setpoint temperature, the controller U1 may determine to turn an air conditioning unit on or off.

The user is preferably able to select the setpoint temperature using the rotary dial 18. For example, the controller U1 may provide a menu (see menu tree in FIG. 5) on the display 16 that allows the user to select a heating or cooling mode, and to set heating and cooling schedules by selecting different setpoint temperatures corresponding to different parts of the day. The user may also select the setpoint temperature to hold constant until further changes are made, rather than establishing a schedule. Additionally, from the home screen (e.g., FIG. 1), when a heating or cooling mode is operational, the user may simply rotate the rotary dial 18 to set an override setpoint temperature that bypasses a programmed schedule for a user-selectable amount of time.

The controller U1 further provides the user with a menu, via the display 16, from which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial 18, an orientation of the display 16 with respect to the housing 12. For example, the user may select between the horizontal (FIG. 1) and vertical (FIG. 2) orientations of the display 16 using the rotary dial 18. Thus, using the rotary dial 18, the text and other symbols provided by the display 16 may be rotated on the display 16 until properly aligned with the mounting configuration of the housing 12. FIG. 6 is a screenshot of an exemplary display orientation menu. The user is able to rotate the rotary dial 18 until the desired orientation is presented for the display 16. The user may then press depressible switch portion 18 a to confirm the selection.

The controller U1 can provide further menus for the user to access and manipulate using the rotary dial 18. For example, the controller U1 can provide the user with options for selecting fan settings, resetting filter alerts, viewing runtimes of the various temperature control devices, setting the time and date, configuring access to a wireless network, changing settings for backlight duration, selecting formatting of information display (e.g., time/date format or using Fahrenheit or Celsius for the temperature display), selecting the type of heating system, selecting whether the temperature control apparatus 10 is to be used in heat- or cool-only mode or can control both heating and cooling, setting temperature limits, setting minimum run/off times, calibrating the system, or like operations. Of course, other types of menus can be provided in keeping with the invention. In addition, not all menus need to be usable with the rotary dial 18, and may take other inputs, including external inputs, as from a networked mobile device or the like.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 

I/we claim:
 1. A temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at least one temperature-modifying device, the apparatus comprising: (a) a housing; (b) a rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing; (c) a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being rotatable with respect to the housing; and (d) a controller configured to: (i) control operation of the at least one temperature modifying device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, and (ii) present a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a plurality of orientations of the display with respect to the housing.
 2. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the rotary dial is axially movable with respect to the housing.
 3. The temperature control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rotary dial includes at least two depressible switch portions.
 4. The temperature control apparatus of claim 3, wherein the housing includes a button label proximate each of the at least two depressible switch portions.
 5. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the menu provided by the controller further allows the user to select, using the rotary dial, at least one of the setpoint temperature, a date, a time, or a time duration.
 6. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display is in the shape of a square.
 7. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor in communication with the controller for detecting the ambient temperature.
 8. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing includes at least one mounting slot configured to allow the housing to be coupled to a surface in one of a plurality of orientations with respect to the surface.
 9. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of orientations includes a first orientation and a second orientation, the second orientation being rotated ninety degrees from the first orientation.
 10. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication module connected to the controller.
 11. A temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at least one temperature-modifying device, the apparatus comprising: (a) a housing selectively orientable on a support surface in a horizontal configuration or a vertical configuration; (b) a rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing; (c) a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being rotatable with respect to the housing, a center of the rotary dial and a center of the display being vertically aligned when the housing is in the vertical configuration and being horizontally aligned when the housing is in the horizontal configuration; and (d) a controller configured to: (i) control operation of the at least one temperature modifying device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, (ii) present a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a horizontal orientation or a vertical orientation of the display with respect to the housing. 